Even in the extreme conditions of an all-out war, Ukrainian civil society continues to innovate to find better or improved ways to fight it. The most efficient way of fighting would be to disarm an enemy soldier even before he had a chance to fire his first shot. If he surrendered to Ukrainian authorities after crossing the border into Ukraine, it would save both his life and lives of Ukrainians.
To optimize the process of surrendering for invaders from Russia and Belarus, the Ukrainian Bar Association and LCF Law Group prepared a brief step-by-step guide on how to do it. This Russian-language guide was written in a clear and accessible style, so that nothing gets confused, as any mistake might become lethal.
Russian and Belarusian troops can surrender to representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Territorial Defense Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine or the National Police.
To properly surrender, they must put their weapons on the ground, stand straight, raise your hands or a white flag and shout loudly “I surrender” and the code word “Million.”
If a whole military unit is surrendering, then they need to do the following:
- Throw their weapons in front of them at a distance,
- Place themselves in front of their military equipment with engines off, and not in a combat position,
- For negotiations, the unit can send a negotiator, from officers, unarmed, with his hands up or with a white flag.
After surrendering, prisoners of war must follow all orders from the Ukrainian military. During the interrogation, they must give their full name, rank, date of birth, personal number, or, if it is not available, equivalent information.
Ukraine is a country defending itself from aggression and it complies with the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. After the end of the war, all prisoners will be able to return home and their temporarily confiscated money and valuables will be returned to them.
No released POW may be used again in active military service.
Earlier, on 28 February, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had announced that Ukraine would offer amnesty and a 5 million-ruble bounty to Russian invaders who surrender and lay down arms. He stated that the initiative will be funded by leaders of the world IT industry.
Ukraine is offering Russian invaders to lay down arms and surrender in exchange for amnesty and Rub 5mn ($46.7k) – Ukraine's MoD
Funds will come from the international IT industry pic.twitter.com/murczwGBr6
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) February 28, 2022
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